Inspired by his brother, Calvert Hall goalie Alex Swartz making the most of standout senior year
Carefully crafting a special senior season on the lacrosse field, Calvert Hall goalie Alex Swartz takes his position with purpose.
For Swartz, it hasn’t been a typical last year of high school that so many seniors get to savor. That changed in August when his older brother, Ryan, enjoying a day with friends on a boat, suffered a devastating spinal cord injury from a diving accident at Gunpowder Falls State Park.
The accident left the 22-year-old a quadriplegic.
Priorities shifted for the younger Swartz. While school and lacrosse remain front and center, steadfast love and support for his brother and best friend has joined in.
“Just being there for him as much as I can, trying to get him out as much as we can and providing moral support — chirping and having the back and forth banter like brothers do,” said Alex, a commit to Anderson University in South Carolina.
As an undersized center for the Calvert Hall football team, Ryan Swartz consistently handled the bigger opponents across from him and set an example for his younger brother.
After the accident, that inspiration has magnified.
After undergoing several surgeries, Ryan has been immersed in physical therapy three days a week at Kennedy Krieger. With hard work, prayers from family and friends, and his no-quit mentality, he has regained feeling in his shoulders, arms, hands and a couple of fingers.
“The kid is working so hard,” said his father Paul, who is an assistant baseball coach at Calvert Hall. “The doctor lists him as less than 10% chance to walk again. But we say in our house that that’s just a number. It doesn’t mean anything because they don’t know what’s in his heart and how hard he’s going to work.
“I tell him every day, ‘It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but you don’t know what it’s going to be in a couple years. So you keep working and you use everything you have to work with and give it everything you have.'”
Two of the most important parts of the day for Alex come before he leaves for school and after he comes home from practice or a game — times spent with Ryan.
“I’m seeing all the hard work he’s been doing and it’s been great to see how much he’s accomplished. He’s getting more movement back each day and it really inspires me,” Alex said.
Said Ryan: “We’ve always had a close bond. We talk about how our days are going and just having that constant conversation and support is really helpful. If I’m having a good day or a bad day and same for him, we always talk about it and it helps us get through.”
Alex is making sure the days on the lacrosse field are good ones for him and the No. 2 Cardinals, who ended the regular season with a 10-6 record and are the fourth seed in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs. In his second season as a starter, he’s been consistent and often sensational in making 162 saves and owning a 7.4 goals-against average in the team’s 7-3 conference mark. At 4 p.m. Friday, the Cardinals will host fifth-seeded Gilman in the quarterfinal round.
“He’s a kid that is pretty resilient — very leveled emotionally,” Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said. “So for him to be able to perform so well with everything that’s going on with him and his family, it’s extremely special. It’s great for us and we’re excited for him.”
This season, his love for lacrosse has brought added importance.
“Lacrosse has always been a fun thing for me to do and it helps get my mind off things,” he said. “And after a win, especially in the MIAA, it’s a great feeling and my mood is always a lot better.”
So far, it hasn’t gotten any better than April 12. That’s when the Cardinals handed two-time defending league champion McDonogh its first conference loss with an 8-7 win in a rematch of last year’s championship game. Swartz was electric with 15 saves, including several key stops in critical fourth-quarter minutes while the game was tied.
The reward Swartz cherishes most playing in the cage comes when his teammates rush to him and show appreciation for his effort at the end of the game.
That night?
“It felt like being on top of the world. Everybody was coming to me, the student section came, too. It was such a great time,” Alex said. “That game was personal, especially for the upperclassmen that played in last year’s game.”
Senior defenseman Gavin Batelka is often the first to reach him.
“You have your captains and you got other really, really good players who aren’t captains but have just as much weight. That’s Alex,” he said. “People just look up to him so much and we feed off him. So he’s been huge keeping our energy up, keeping us up.”
After the win, Kelly thought first about his goalie.
“You love to see the win for him that day. It was a great moment for him and for us and I was just really happy for him,” he said.
The Swartz family is grateful for the lasting support they’ve received. Paul highlighted the Calvert Hall community, the surgeons and the dedicated staff at Krieger, among others.
A GoFundMe page named “Ryan’s Road to Recovery” has been established along with fundraising campaigns to help pay for medical expenses. The latest came on Tuesday when DeSantis Pizza Grill & Bar in Nottingham donated 10% of all its proceeds earned from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What Paul and his wife, Roxanne, have always instilled in their two boys is helping out when needed, and that makes them proud.
“Bring your lunch box, show up to work every day and get after it. Doesn’t matter if you’re sick or hurt, you keep going and never look back, always looking forward,” Paul said.
Ryan has been in attendance for several of Alex’s home games this season and watches the live stream when he can’t make it.
Alex takes a bracelet with him to the cage that provides motivation. It reads: “Fearless. Unstoppable. Courageous. Kicking A– #Ryan”
“This whole season, we’ve been playing for my brother — going out there to win for him,” he said.
